Besieged Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi lobbied the US to try and stop NATO's bombing campaign and feared western forces would commence a full invasion at the end of the year, documents seen by The Guardian revealed.

Kadhafi's regime sought to persuade US congressman Dennis Kucinich -- who voted against the NATO operation over Libya -- to conduct a "peace mission" to Tripoli, the broadsheet reported Friday.

"Because of the efforts I had made early on to bring an end to the war, I started to get calls from Libya, including from the prime minister," the congressman told the Guardian.

The Democrat congressman told the regime he was unable to negotiate on behalf of the US administration and concluded Libya "did not seem a promising place to hold meetings."

Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, who is now in exile in Tunisia, also wrote to US President Barack Obama in June to protest the "unprecedented decision" to freeze Libyan assets.

Among the documents, which surfaced during the rebels' advance on Tripoli, was a letter written by a US-based lobbyist for the regime, Sufyan Omeish, to the prime minister warning of a full-scale invasion.

"What is most concerning is that there are highly credible analysts and intelligence personnel in the US who are exposing growing evidence of covert logistical military planning for a future ground invasion in either late September or October of this year," he wrote, according to the Guardian.

Libya's rebels announced Friday the transfer of their leadership to Tripoli from their Benghazi base, boosted by a United Nations decision to release millions of dollars of cash aid within days.

The move came less than three days after rebel forces swarmed into Kadhafi's sprawling compound in the centre of the capital, defeating his fighters in fierce clashes and seizing control of most of the city.

But Kadhafi was nowhere to be found and on Thursday he broadcast a new audio calling on the populace to take up arms.

earlier related report
NATO not targeting Kadhafi: spokeswoman
Brussels (AFP) Aug 25, 2011 - NATO insisted Thursday it was not targeting Moamer Kadhafi or coordinating with Libyan rebels, after Britain's defence secretary said the alliance was helping to hunt down the elusive leader.

"No specific individual is a target as an individual, whether it's Kadhafi or anybody else," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu told AFP when asked about British Defence Secretary Liam Fox's comments that the alliance was providing intelligence and reconnaissance assets in the search for Kadhafi.

She said NATO was conducting operations "in full accordance" with its UN mandate to protect the Libyan population from attacks.

"It's important that NATO remains vigilant, and we are absolutely determined to continue our mission as long as it takes to get the job done," she said.

"There are always NATO planes over Libya, that's 24/7, and we continue to monitor the situation including through surveillance and reconnaissance," she said.

She added: "As matter of policy we do not comment on intelligence matters."

NATO has repeatedly denied targetting Kadhafi since Western warplanes began bombing Libyan regime forces in March and has always rejected claims that it was serving as the rebels' proxy air force.

"There is no military coordination with the rebels," Lungescu said.

"We have also said that it's for the people of Libya to decide the fate of Kadhafi and remnants of his regime," she said.

Asked whether the NATO response to Fox's comments were contradictory, she said: "It's not contradictory because we've been saying we do not target individuals."

Fox told Sky News earlier that the alliance was helping track down Kadhafi, whose whereabouts are unknown since rebels stormed into Tripoli on Sunday.

"I can confirm that NATO is providing intelligence and reconnaissance assets to the NTC (National Transitional Council) to help them track down Colonel Kadhafi and other remnants of the regime," who fled before advancing rebel forces on Tuesday, he told Sky News.

The British Ministry of Defence said Fox was referring to "various assets such as military planes."

Fox refused however to confirm reports that Britain's SAS special forces were working with the Libyan rebels to track down Kadhafi.

Lungescu reiterated that NATO has no forces on the ground in Libya under its command.

"We never have, don't at the moment and won't in the future," she said.

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